Pere aromate cu sos de ciocolata/Flavored pears with chocolate sauce

Deserturile au cam lipsit din meniul nostru de catva timp. A trecut vara cu toate fructele colorate si aromate, a venit toamna cu alte bunatati si in curand vom intra in anotimpul in care vom gusta mai mult citrice.
De ceva vreme si eu am renuntat la dulciuri (aproape complet) si am optat pentru mere sau alte fructe, insa in cantitate mai mica decat de obicei. Insa nu toata lumea si-a schimbat atat de radical meniul. Asa ca probabil in urmatoarea perioada veti vedea foarte multe retete cu ciocolata, nuci, alune si musai muuuuulttttaaa crema.
A cumpara cacao pudra este o aventura in magazinele romanesti, ori cel putin in orasul nostru. Nu neg faptul ca am gasit la tot pasul cacao dar in acelasi timp ma pot lauda cu nenumarate pungute de prafuri de culori ce variaza de la maro-galbui si pana la maro-mahon. Gustul? Vorba unui prieten din facultate: de caramida pisata cu ciocanul.
Daca ar fi sa sfatuiesc importatorii de cacao de la noi din tara si comerciantii, le-as spune cateva lucruri de bun simt, urmand ca ei sa traga concluziile.
Ceea ce gasim pe rafturile magazinelor poate fi considerata cacao de calitate indoielnica, ceva ce altii nu ar folosi in ruptul capului. Eu si altii ca mine ar cumpara in loc de 5 pachete cu cacao proasta si ieftina unul de cacao buna si mai scumpa. Daca ar aduce si ar comercializa cineva…
Gustul consumatorului se educa. Nu vor vinde niciodata produse de calitate si evident, mai scumpe, daca nu aduc nici macar doua pachete pentru un intreg magazin.
Exista cateva marci de cacao pe piata, aproape necunoscute. Cea mai cunoscuta de cumparatori pare a fi Dr. Oetker. Marcile consacrate de cacao lipsesc. Foarte rar veti gasi in magazine pudra de cacao pentru care toata lumea facuse obsesie in Romania acum 20 de ani – De Zaan.
Acestea fiind spuse, nici nu indraznesc sa ma gandesc la viitorul cand voi cumpara eu cacao pudra 100% din magazin! Deocamdata sunt in faza in care ii multumesc lui Dumnezeu ca mai vad din cand in care o punga de cacao De Zaan.
Acum probabil ca va intrebati de ce am cautat ca nebuna cacao. Pai consortul si-a dorit ceva dulce ciocolatos, musai cremos si aromat. Ce am facut? Pere aromate scaldate in sos de ciocolata.

Desserts missed in our menu for some time. It’s been the summer with colorful fruits and autumn came with other fragrant goodies and soon we’ll enter in winter when we taste more citruses.
For a while and I gave up sweets (almost completely) and I opted for apples and other fruits, but in smaller amounts than usual. Not everyone has changed the menu so radically. So perhaps in the next period you will see many recipes with chocolate, nuts and much butter cream.
To buy cocoa powder is an adventure in Romanian stores, or at least in our town. I do not deny that we can find everywhere cocoa but also I can show countless bags with powders with color ranging from yellowish brown to mahogany brown. And the taste? A friend from college once said: the taste of bricks crushed by hammer.
If I could advise the cocoa importers in our country and traders, I would tell them few things, of common sense, and following them to draw conclusions.
What you find on the shelves can be considered poor quality cocoa, something that others would not use. I and maybe others like me would buy 1 package of expensive and good cocoa instead of  5 packages  of some cheap and awful cocoa. If someone would bring and sell…
Educate the consumer’s taste. There will never sell quality products and obviously more expensive, if you can’t find even two packs for a full store.
There are several brands of cocoa on the market, almost unknown. The most famous of traders seems to be Dr. Oetker. Big cocoa brands are missing. Very rarely you will find in stores the cocoa powder that generated an obsession in Romania 20 years ago – De Zaan .
I don’t dare to think of the future when I’ll buy 100 % cocoa powder in the store ! For now I’m in the stage when I thank God when I see once in a while a bag of  De Zaan Cocoa .
Now you’re probably wondering why I looked for cocoa like crazy. Well, my consort wanted something sweet with chocolate, creamy and flavorful. What have I cooked ? Fragrant pears drenched in chocolate sauce.

Ingrediente:
-7-8 pere
– 5 linguri de zahar
– scortisoara
– cuisoare
– anason stelat
– 100 ml ciresata

Ingrediente sos de ciocolata:
– 50 g unt 82% grasime
– 3 lg zahar brun
– vanilie
– 5 lg cacao
– 250 ml lapte
– 50 ml lichior de portocale
Ingredients:
-7-8 pears
– 5 tablespoons sugar
– cinnamon
– cloves
– star anise
– 100 ml cherry

Chocolate sauce Ingredients:
– 50 g butter 82% fat
– 3 Tbs brown sugar
– vanilla
– 5 Tbs cocoa
– 250 ml of milk
– 50 ml orange liqueur

 Am curatat perele si le-am pus intr-o oala cu zahar, scortisoara, cuisoare si anason stelat. Am adaugat apa si le-am pus la fiert. Cand perele erau fierte, cu 5 minute inainte a lua oala de pe plita, am adaugat 100 ml de ciresata. Am lasat apoi perele sa se raceasca in oala pe care am acoperit-o cu un capac.

Cat timp perele erau puse sa se raceasca, am preparat sosul de ciocolata. Intr-o craticioara am pus zaharul, vanilia si untul. Am pus craticioara pe foc si am caramelizat zaharul impreuna cu untul supa care am adaugat laptele. Apoi am pus cacao si am amestecat in continuu cu un tel pentru a omogeniza compozitia. Atentie ca nu cumva sosul sa se prinda de fundul craticioarei. While pears were being left in the pot to cool off, I prepared the chocolate sauce. I put in a saucepan the sugar, vanilla and butter. I put the pan on stove and I caramelized sugar with butter and after that  I added milk. Then I put cocoa and I mixed continuously with a whisk to homogenize the composition. Careful – the sauce might stick to the pan’s bottom.